An invasion of all Australians' privacy

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The implications of misuse of electoral roll data demand transparent reviews of all access.

Enrolment on the electoral roll is compulsory for all adult Australians. By law, they must promptly notify the Australian Electoral Commission of changes of address. The AEC also continuously reviews the roll, using data matching. The result is an unrivalled database of Australians that is comprehensive and up to date. The potential commercial and political value of such compulsorily acquired information is immense, which demands strict privacy protection. Recent legal amendments were meant to ensure the sale or use of the electoral roll for commercial purposes was prohibited. The laws, supported by the Commonwealth Auditor-General and Federal Privacy Commissioner, were unanimously endorsed by Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. The AEC said such protection was a democratic necessity to ensure privacy concerns did not dissuade people from enrolling. Having failed to gain access via a submission to the committee inquiry, the Australian Bankers Association has had a second go by lobbying the Howard Government, and appears to have succeeded. Put simply, the banks do not want to give up the great convenience of using the electoral roll to verify customers' identities as required by the Financial Transactions Reporting Act. But there are other ways to verify identity and banks are not the only businesses that must do this. Thus, the case for opening the door to more exemptions, even narrow ones, would have to be compelling.

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A further concern is the attitude to the use of the electoral roll by political parties, which are exempt from federal privacy laws. The parties have databases - the Liberals' Feedback and Labor's Electrac - that use the electoral roll as a foundation for vast collections of information about individuals, including political leanings, to target swinging voters. This data draws on everything from survey responses, interests and club memberships to letters to the press and phone calls to candidates. The databases are privately operated, so are exempt from freedom-of-information laws. Candidates are expected to buy these databases, a practice that Cowan University academic and former ministerial adviser Peter van Onselen has said is part of an "institutionalised violation of Commonwealth electoral laws". The parties are crossing a crucial line between keeping in touch with voters and keeping tabs on them. This month the Government announced a review of the operation of the Privacy Act. It excluded the parties' use of the electoral roll and data collection on the basis that Parliament provided appropriate accountability. In the case of Feedback, the Government Members Secretariat oversees its operation. Previous ministerial responsibility for the GMS has been relinquished to the Chief Government Whip's office, which shields it from parliamentary scrutiny. The politicians' attitude to accountable use of electoral roll data does not inspire confidence in closed-door deliberations on what other uses might be appropriate.